Afghan Partners Visit UCA Khorog Campus Construction Site

A delegation from the University of Central Asia’s Satellite Learning Centres (UCA SLCs) in Afghanistan visited the University’s Khorog campus construction site on 13 November 2015, following a visit to the University’s School of Professional and Continuing Education (UCA SPCE) in Khorog.

The delegation comprised of staff from UCA SLCs and partnering state institutions in Afghanistan where the SLCs are located, including Teacher Training College (TTC) directors Ghulam Sarwar (Darwaz), Elchibek Dehnashim (Shugnan) and Farid Frahmand (Ishkashim).

The delegation toured the site and visited the workers’ welfare facility. They were briefed on Phase I plans and vision of the University’s development. UCA’s Khorog campus is one of three being built across Central Asia and is scheduled to open in 2017.

Phase I construction includes a 15,000 m² facility comprised of a three-storey academic building housing a library, classrooms, a computer lab, student common spaces, dining hall, administrative offices and faculty reception, offices and residences; dormitories; a laboratory; student life building; and international standard sports facilities. The University’s Mountain Studies Research Institute will also be located at the campus.

“We are hopeful that, like UCA SPCE, UCA’s main campus in Khorog will provide opportunities for international standard knowledge acquisition for Afghan students just across the border,” said Elchibek Dehnashin, Director of Shugnan TTC.

Since establishing the three SLCs in partnerships with the TTC directorate and the Continuing Education Unit at Badakhshan University in Faizabad, UCA SPCE has delivered Conversational English, IT and Cashier programmes to over 2,370 Afghan learners, of which 880 are female.

The SLCs are part of the Multi Input Area Development Global Development Alliance (MIAD GDA) in Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, an alliance between the Aga Khan Foundation and the United State Agency for International Development. The programme makes investments across sectors over a sustained period to support longer-term stability and growth in Badakhshan.